1

123.THOMAS MULL TO WILLIAM STONOR

2

1472

3
4    Cosen, I recommaunde me to you. And wher as I fele by your
5letter and wrytyng that my Mastres hath not that good wyll of you as
6sume tyme ye ought her, Syr, ye may owe her right good will, how be

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7yt that it be not in so herty wyse as ye dyde before. But and I understode
8þat she had seyd to you þes wordes: "Syr, I wold not have you,
9but yt so bee þat I may have C. li. or CC. marcs with you in joyntur":
10Syr, then it had ben a mater by which ye myght conceyve þat shee þen
11had loved your londe better þen your self. But I understond that ther
12wer no such wordes, but I conceyve the wordes wer þees: "Syr, I may
13have CCC. marcs in joyntur, and I to take þe lesse when I may have
14þe more, my ffrendes wold þenke me not wyse &c. : and howe be yt,
15your ffader wol not geve me, yet lette hym do well to you." In which
16wordes I understond noon utter nay. But and ye in your mynde conceyve
17þat shee hath yoven you an utter nay, then shall ye by myn assent
18never speke more of the mater, but lette yt goo: but yf it be so þat ye
19your self brake the mater for þat shee seid, "I may have CCC. marcs
20in joyntur," þen shee hath geven no cause in her parte of an utter
21breche: for it ys not oon to sey, I may have wiþ a man CC. marcs, and
22þes wordes, I woll not have you but it so be I may have CC. marcs in
23joyntur wiþ you. But for al thys resonyng I wold knowe þis of you:
24and the case wer so þat shee wolde ben agreable to have you with xl.
25li. or iiij^xx marcs joyntur, wolde your herte þen love as ye have doon
26before þys seson? þis question wolde I knowe of you, for and I knowe
27your disposicion in this behalf, I trowe to God al þis love and mater of
28love wolde be revyvyd ayen in short seson: ffor and it so be þat ye
29brake þis mater for a lytyl hastynes of your self, þen wolde I not we left
30so: but and shee wer þe cause of brech, þen woll I not stere ne avise
31you after þis neþer to write nor sende to her. But oon thyng I dar safly
32sey in my conceyte, that shee on her parte sithe your departier hath
33ben vexed and trowbelyd with þe þrowes of love more fervently in her
34mynde þen ye have ben syth vexid wiþ her seyinges. And þis my cause
35so to sey and deme, I know oonys for certeyn shee loved you as a parfyte
36lover, and þat right late never better þen þe last seson þat shee was
37in London. Trewe it ys love oones parfytide, þough þer hap sum
38daungerus speche or countenaunce, yet ys not þe hole ffyr of love
39quenchyd, but when þat þe person, þat was moste daungerus in speche
40or countenaunce, by her self allow: wher as shee may revolve at her
41lyberte wiþoute controllyng every þyng þat longeth to loves daunce,
42þough þe fflame of the ffyre of love may not breke oute so þat it may be
43seyn, yet the hete of love in yt self is never þe les, but rather hootter in
44yt self. Wherfor I sey þis for certayne, I dare depose for her þat the
45sharpe and unwar chaunges from thought to þought, and ofte remembrance
46of the trowbely wawes of love have so possid her to and fro in

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47her owne mynde, þat shee desyreth as sore after relief, as fer as shee
48may for shame, as þe man in the water desyreth to be releved frome
49drownyng in þe perill of þe see: but daunger and shame woll not suffir
50her to speke yt with oute it be so þat þer be sume newe mocyon made
51to her &c.: the menes wherof I have compassid in my mynde, which
52by þe mercy of Gode I woll attempte yf it so be ye kan be plesid þat
53way, and þat in shorte tyme. Syr, if I may, I woll be with you on
54Saturday or Sonday &c. I wot well ye remembre what your ffader by
55his last letter assureþe you in joyntur: and syr, þat ys feyr: and as for
56oþer thynges touchyng your self, I shall enfourme you at our next
57metynge to your hertes plesyr, with the mercy of Jhesu, which preserve
58you.
60

parameters for this division: #tmull_classification_1

63

124.THOMAS MULL TO THOMAS STONOR

64

1472

65
66    Right worshipfull Brother, I recomaund me to you. And in as
67muche as that my Cosen Willyam cumeth home to you hymself, therfore
68I wrytt not to you of the demyng &c., ne of the communicacion
69betwen my seid Cosen and my Mastres Blounte: but this direccion
70have I taken in the mater, I have thorowly comyned with the preste þat
71I spoke to you of, and tolde hym my conceyte howe he shal be demened
72in brekynge with my seid Mastres: and that he shall not breke to much
73at oones to her, but ever when he spekyth in the mater to her and fele
74here, and certenly to marke her wordes unto the tyme that he be verily
75assured in hymself, as nygh as he kan, of her disposicion. And over
76þat I have appoynted with hym that withyn iiij dayes after þat he is
77come to my seide mastres I shal send hym a letter directe to her fro me

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78and in my name: and he hath promysid me that every letter þat I
79sende here shal be brekyn or he departe from her. And the man þat
80shal ber the letter shal be namede, Cosen, to þe said prest, so þat he shal
81abide þer in the howse. And, if it so be þe preste fele her veryly applyable,
82þe messenger shall speke with her hymself. John Foorde
83shal do the message, and abide ther ij or iij dayes. Furste I was disposid
84to have sente to þe Norce to have felte my seid Mastres: but
85me thought after, þat it had not bene beste, for paraventur the Norce
86wolde feer to breke fer wiþe her, and also shee myght not contynue and
87abide uppon the communicacion. This preste may alwey have liberte
88and lesyr to speke with her. And I have lefte with him a remembrance
89in writyng how I wol he shal do, wherein I am verily assured he
90wol do his parte &c. Syr, as for my Cosen Willyam, for God is sake
91callyth hym forth with you when he is at home with you, and let him
92walke with you, and gevyth wordes of good comforte, and beth good
93ffader unto hym, as I certenly knowe ye be, and so letyth hym veryly
94understond and know. For, Syr, he is disposid to be a musyr and a
95studyer, which remembreth and breketh that as much as ye may. And
96Syr, but if þis mater sum dele come of her own hert, she shal not otherwyse
97be labored to for certen. Also, yf it can be, the preste promysith
98me that she shall sende me worde in writyng of her dysposicion, if her
99disposicion be to us warde: which letter I shall sende you and my seid
100Cosyn. And veryly, if she be appliable, it is to be remembred her of
101her joyntur of the lorde Montjoy, and also of her own ffader, for he
102taketh the profite of a grete parte: and also in what case lorde Montjoy
103is land standeth it is good to be remembred to her. And I beseche
104Jhesu spede and directe this mater to his plesyr, and to preserve you
105and yours &c.